Elevator shoe



Feb. 10, 1948.

H. c. GAITHER 2,435,742

ELEVATOR SHOE Filed July 22, 1946 INVEN TOR. F1 5 wramr c. anm/s/e RTTMNfK Patented Feb. 10, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT- OFFICE 2,435,742

ttitvuoa SHOE: it a g: ither Detroit, Mich. i t

f sts; Seriallio. 685;402"

with less acceleratedIallingofthe cab, less discomfort "to the passengers and considerably less ample in tlie "-fol'lowingvdeslcription and in oompanyingdrawings'in-whichzw a Figure 3'is a-section on the --line-33;;of Figurel; r .T .t.: *0 H- nsi e ab e e t 11 view tor" if the noisfir h b v I Figure" 5' is-an elevation'atztheqopen side of the I rm s .a .shoe, and -r Figure' 6 is an elevation' orirtheline 66 of Fig- :use: of like ohai-Iaetei'smwhich are employed to designate corresponding eparts throughout: In Figurelis showhi a conventional rail of the I gether by suitable means" siioh 'ad flshplatesithat ar well'kn'own in the-art: and therefore not i1- 2 zlustrateu hereflw? or a copolymer of2 ohloro-I;3 butadierie and anof butadiene andaerylonitrilen' r introdueesa q1 arance sides ofthdsh'dedkhibh egarded as normal. The clearai ge "betweer therail-and the safety iaxy s rrrust ohvio 1;; Be still" greater or on the order ofiOl'O inh?*sineetliekh' st this invention do not wear as much arid the normal tolerance-between='the: rail-t'an sides of the shoe is less than pre ously at As a ul ifitl e clearance bettve ers 9 mounted 'ori theupp'eriariuIower ends Ofthe the keeper.

of theiaventiionv v s nviitiori 'gnp e than is required with more widely spaced jaws, 60 over these imperfect joints, the familiar click is damage tothe equipment; -Another object of the ,1! l invention; therefore; is *to 'provide v a. guide shoe that makes possible the advantages of more close- The invention is fully disoiosed byway-of ex--- the ac- I Figure l -is a side elivationzofra shoe assemblyy Figurefiisasectionon'the line 2- -2 of Figure 1;

Figure: 41sa'perspectiveryiew ofythe :shoe;,- t

Referenc'etothese wiews-will'now'bemade byusual T-shape comprising a base I suitably fastened-to the supportingfstructure "and a rib or"- fla'hge i2 engaged 'by thee sho;i'Ihe-shoe is a U- i mortise-'and tenohjoints; J and'zare sfastened -to'-" As already indica't datheshoeis bomposed of a. "selectedmaterial that is yielding; non-abrading,*-

oil-resistant and self-srestoringttozrshape." Such a material isne'opreneiot-Buna?Ne:of"40 to 60 1111+: v1 35 rometer hardness orei'erablynearer thehigher 1 i limit. Neoprenefis *as'ynthetic elastomer'which is essentially-a polymer of 2-'chloro-1;3-butadine otherpolymerizable substancefi /B-uria; Nis"a syn; thetic'elastomer'whicltis?essentially abopolyme'r The sho'e is mountedion the el'evatoroahi by means of 'a bracket iawhich carries" ashoe holder I in the usual manrieri mhe free 'corners'of the sideslbtith sho aie notched atfl'ztolreceive ikeepiholders- In. this mariner th'ishoe isametainedxin r 1 Althea li illustratd and 'desoribed in"bonneotionwith a cab, the shoe may-also be provided ofithe counterweights within the scope I The ends of the sho'e'arebreferably bevelle'd at H H! for admission' of lubricant: supplied' from the 1 bok oiler a-tithe upper endof therail in the usual he 'J'oints' =4 as-a; rul are: not: perfectlyfitted and r ot-"perfectly tight,tvherebyftheraiiendsar permitted to=shitt==latera1lweAs theshoepasses 3 heard in the cab equipped with conventional shoes. Moreover, the impact causes wear and abrading of the shoe, and the useful life of the shoe is thereby reduced.

The resilient shoe herein described absorbs the impact instantaneously, so that no noise is heard. Having a. durometer hardness of 40 to 60 and being extremely tough as well as resilient, the material does not chip on impact with sharp corners and does not wear off against irregular surfaces. On the contrary, the material merely yields and returns to its original shape.

Particles of dust, metal, cement from the buildin materials carried as the load on a freight elevator, and the like, find their way between the rail and the shoe. These are forced into the rubbing surface of the shoe to a position where they do not scratch the rail. In timethey'roll or otherwise work their way out of the shoe and leave no impression in the latter.

In order to facilitate the release of particles and to improve the lubrication-in a' manner to be set forth, the inner surfaces of the sides of; the shoe are formed with a suitable number of angular grooves H shown in the preferred V- shape. In a shoe of conventional size these grooves are approximately inch wide at the top and about A; inch deep. Pockets 12 may be formed in'the base of the channel to trap a quantity of lubricant which eventually flows to the grooves ll Embedded particles working their way out of the material are caused to travel only a relatively short distance to reach an edge of the shoe or the edge of one of the grooves H. The sides of the grooves, being at an oblique angle to the direction of travel of the shoe, aid in expelling the particles.

Lubricant is expelled from the grooves in a similar manner accompanied by a squeegee action of the edges of the grooves against the'sides of the rail. Inasmuch as the lubricant is supplied from the oiler at the upper end of the rail at a given rate, it should be taken off the rail at substantially the same rate to avoid accumulation of contaminated lubricant. The rate of supply and removal of lubricant should, ideally, be approxi mately the rate of contamination. The rate of supply at the oiler is easily controlled by well known means. The rate of removal at the grooves II is regulated by the number of grooves in the shoe and the angularity of their sides.

The high resistance of the'shoe material to wear and to deterioration by lubricant leads to another important advantage in the operation of the elevator. The wear of a conventional hard shoe requires a given tolerance between the rail and the sides of the shoe. The spacing of the emergency safety jaws from the rail must obviously bestill greater. Inasmuchas the safety jaws and the mechanismfor operating them are well known in the art, they are not illustrated in the present instance. This spacing is approxi-' mately .010 inch at each side of the rail.

The wear-resistant rail herein disclosed requires less tolerance at the sides of the rail, and consequently the safety jaws may be spaced from the rail less than the usual .010 inch, or about .003 inch.. When the jaws are operated on the breaking of the elevator cable, they have a shorter distance to travel in coming" into contact with the rail. Consequently the gravity accelerated drop before braking and gripping by the jaws is considerably reduced, with proportionally less fright and injury to the passengers and less damage to the installation.

of construction may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as indicated by the appended claims.

' 'What I claim is:

1. An elevator shoe comprising a member of yielding rubbery material and of U-shape in transverse section, the internal plane surfaces of the side walls of the member each having a plurality of independent transverse grooves spaced longitudinally of the member, each of said grooves extending from the edge of a wall in wardly toward the wall of said member connect-- ing said side walls.

2. An elevator shoe comprising a member of I yielding rubbery material and of U-shape in transverse section, the internal plane surfaces of the side walls of the member each having a plurality of independent transverse grooves spaced longitudinally of the member, each. of said grooves extending from the edge of a wall in wardly; toward the wall of said member connect? ing said side walls, each of said grooves havingv side walls converging toward said connectingwallof the member. r

3. An elevator shoe comprising a memberofyielding rubbery material and of U-shape intransverse section, said material having a durum-- eter hardness of 40 to 60, the internal plane sur-- faces of the side walls of the member each having. a plurality of independent transverse grooves spaced longitudinally of thev member, each of said grooves extending from the edge of a wall inwardly toward the wall of said member connecting said side walls.

4. An elevator shoe comprising a member of yielding rubbery material and of U-shape in transverse section, the internal plane surfaces of the side walls of the member each having a p 1u-- rality of independent transverse grooves spaced longitudinally of the member, each of said grooves: extending from the edge of a-wall inwardly to-; ward the wall of said member connecting said side walls, the inner surface of said connecting wall having a recessed formation therein adapted to collect lubricant.

5. An elevator shoe comprising a member of yielding rubbery material and of U-shape in transverse section, said material having a durometer hardness of 40 to 60, the internal plane surfaces of the side walls of the member each having a plurality of independent transverse grooves spaced longitudinally of the member, each of said grooves extending from the edge of a wall inwardly toward the wall of said memberv connecting said side walls, the inner surface of said connecting wall having a recessed formation therein adapted to collect lubricant.

HERBERT C. GAITHER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of'record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,103,480 Mason Dec. 28, 1937 2,131,762 V Smith Oct, 4, 1938 2,226,770 Holter Dec. 31, 1940 2,397,124 Bufiington et a1. Mar. 26, 1946 

